A Tale Of Destiny
by ThePinkWerewolf
Summary: A human Hunter, Awoken Warlock and female human Titan each have their own motivations, but fate causes their paths to cross, and they must work together to succeed. This is an ongoing story and work in progress, so please enjoy and I will add new chapters as they are completed. Thanks and happy reading!
1. Chapter 1

As she struggled with the straps of her armor, she contemplated the adventure to come. The plasteel plate sealed itself around her ankle with a hiss, the synthetic fiber lining bristling as the life support systems came online. After all this time, her suit had almost become a part of her, its low thrum of energy seeming to mimic the tension she felt as she rose from the bed.

The landing platform was deserted. She looked out over the horizon, taking in the view of the night sky. Far below, she could just make out the sprawling array of rusting aircraft, forgotten relics from some ancient past. Among them, she knew that something stirred, clawing and scraping in the shadows. It was here that her ghost had found her all those months ago. Somehow, the machine had revived her, brought her back. Whatever had taken her life before the ghost's arrival had been long since lost to time. She had no memory of who she had been, of the people whom she must have known, and loved. She was only sure of one thing: if she had died, then she must have _lived. _Tonight, she would find her answers, no matter the cost.

Her jumpship glistened with dew as the moon reflected off of its battered hull. The old hulk was no longer capable of space travel, but it would be enough. She had heard whispers from the other guardians, those who had traveled to the moon, and some from places further still. The Fallen had spread even to Venus. They were winning the war, and using our own weapons to defeat us. Reports had surfaced that a Prime had lead them to Earth, that this sentient machine was able to access databanks from man's golden age and repurpose that lost knowledge to engineer our own destruction. Many had little hope for mankind's survival. Still, there were other tales, of victories won on distant planets and hard fought battles against relentless alien foes.

Deep beneath the Venusian surface, legend has it that a cybernetic monstrosity had emerged that could control the fabric of space and time. He had threatened all of existence, but was defeated by a cunning warlock who lured him to his death in the bottomless chasm beneath his lair. On Mars, a Cabal warlord was said to have been vanquished by a small team of guardian snipers who were able to dispose of him from the safety of a clever hiding spot. Now it would be her turn. She had learned that a Prime had been spotted, lurking in the ruins of the Cosmodrome just outside the Traveler's reach. Someone must have known who she was, of the life she had once lived. If this machine had accessed the primitive databanks man had left behind, perhaps it would have the answers she sought.

She took a last look down at the hefty revolver at her side. It had been her constant companion these last months. She remembered when she had first held it, afraid of its mass and power. Despite her trepidation, she had practiced her aim on the scavenging creatures of the Skywatch, trying to follow them through the gunsight as they burst from the caves in an endless flood. She slew them until she could no longer count how many, until the mass of iron felt like a part of her as it roared and thrashed in her grasp. Until the day came when there were no more left to kill. The time had come. She was ready. Tonight she knew she faced a far greater threat than the mindless dregs below, and had briefly considered leaving the old revolver behind in favor of one of the much more formidable weapons that were offered in the Tower. These were beyond her reach, however, as she had little means with which to buy them, and she had grown far too attached to her weapon of choice as it was. Better to choose the devil she knew.

Tonight she could take no chances. Her ghost could not accompany her. Like all of the others, it was in its weekly shutdown cycle, a necessary reboot to repair the ongoing effects of the Traveler's influence. The guardians called it Nightfall, for that is when their ghosts slept, and when none but the most foolhardy warriors would venture out without the safety of their robotic companions. If she fell in battle, there would be no second chances, but this was also why she had chosen this very evening to enact her plan. The enemies of mankind had learned our patterns, our weaknesses, and they knew we dared not confront them tonight. She would face the danger alone, but her enemy would not expect her. She would creep into their lair, find the Prime, and find her answers. The cockpit hatch slid open and the pressurized gasses within escaped, caressing her cheek like a warm breeze. There was no going back. She knew the risks. She had heard the legends. Tonight, she would learn hers.


	2. Chapter 2

Vane Stratos couldn't believe his luck. As he sat huddled in the darkened cargo hold, he could feel the soft, rhythmic thrum reverberate through the ship's hull. This wasn't the nauseating pulse wave that accompanied hyperspace travel, so their destination had to be close. He had crept aboard the ketch, a massive Fallen warship, as he fled the lunar work camp several hours earlier. He had feared that the ship would be bound for deep space, but now there could be no doubt: they were headed for Earth.

His fellow stowaway seemed oblivious to the revelation. He sat cross-legged and unmoving as he had for the entirety of the flight, quietly muttering to himself as he rested his head against a large metallic container. The cavernous cargo hold was mostly empty, save for the three coffin-sized casks the pair now huddled behind. The only light came from a thin recess that ran along the upper walls, and its faint yellow glow played off the iridescent blue of the young man's skin, twisting his features into a sickly masquerade as he whispered incoherently. Vane suddenly felt very uncomfortable with his new companion, something about him just seemed so entirely…_alien. _Shaking off his temporary revulsion, Vane rose to his feet to survey their surroundings. He had chosen this particular ship in the hopes that it would be largely unoccupied, an empty cargo vessel making the return trip to Earth. He casually thumbed the crude knife at his hip, a trophy taken from a lone dreg unfortunate enough to discover them as they had made their escape. Now, in the belly of a Fallen warship, it seemed little comfort.

At that moment, a door slid open at the far end of the hold, and a vandal sauntered through the opening. He froze in place as he spotted Vane, the glowing eye slits of its horned helmet seeming to convey the shock and surprise it must be feeling within. Instinctively, Vane flung his blade at the creature, a flash of silver as it hit its mark and buried itself in the soft tissue of the vandal's throat. The beast let out a sickening gurgle, its four spindly arms clutching wildly at air. It fumbled against the wall, just managing to depress a small lighted square before collapsing in a heap, two of its limbs still feebly searching at its throat. A blaring siren immediately echoed throughout the ship, and the tomblike cargo hold erupted in a deafening cacophony of sound. The previously catatonic humanoid's eyes fluttered open, a puzzled expression on his face as he looked up at Vane. For a brief moment, the two simply stared at each other, and then turned to face the open door as they heard the distinctive yips and barks emanating from deep within the ship.

In a panic, Vane looked frantically around the room for anything that might be of use in the coming onslaught. The dying vandal had carried no weapon, but Vane took a moment to retrieve his knife. He threw open the nearest container, and felt his heart rise in his chest. A single rifle lay inside, improbably huge and bristling with science. He hefted the ponderous weapon, a sly smile spreading across his face. Surveying his surroundings, he realized this room provided little opportunity to make their stand. He strode for the exit, and his Awoken companion followed sheepishly behind.

The room beyond served as an antechamber, with corridors leading off in all directions. A row of electronic terminals nearby could serve as a makeshift sniper's nest. Vane leapt behind them, raising the weapon as he peered down its sights at the largest corridor on the opposite end of the room. "Rubik, get down!" he barked at the young man, who nervously clambered over the terminals to join him. Once barely audible over the riotous alarm wail, the sounds of clawing and grunting from the other chambers grew louder as the Fallen crew closed on their location. Rubik chewed on his lower lip, wide-eyed and clearly terrified. "Wh-what if…what if we just talk to them? M-maybe they aren't, um, bad…" his voice trailed off as his gaze darted around the room.

"Sure, they just want to chat" muttered Vane, as he focused his attention on a pair of dregs that had just appeared at the end of the long hallway. They looked nervously back and forth, searching for the source of the offending sirens. "Alright then", Vane whispered to no one in particular, as the charging core of the rifle spun to life. "If you want us to introduce ourselves, allow me to do the honors." The muzzle of the rifle exploded in his hands, its monstrous recoil driving into his shoulder. At the far end of the room, one dreg fell lifelessly to the ground as its head and shoulders were vaporized by the blast, and a split second later a secondary explosion engulfed the other in a ball of plasmic fire. "How's THAT for an ice breaker?!" Vane exclaimed, rubbing his sore shoulder.

The victory was short lived, however, as Fallen began to scramble into the antechamber from all directions. Vane fired repeatedly, dropping a vandal as it lifted its weapon, and another as it emerged from the left. As the alarm sirens continued to ring in their ears, both men struggled to stem the tide of alien soldiers before they were overrun. Rubik had resorted to throwing pieces of the computer terminal at his attackers, and a dreg nearby recoiled, briefly stunned by the electronic panel as it connected with his skull. Vane seized the opportunity and fired again, the dreg's body flailing as it careened through the air from the force of the blast. Fallen continued to spill into the room, and realizing the hopelessness of their situation, Rubik curled into a ball on the floor. A captain clambered over the body of his compatriot, and unleashed a bloodcurdling roar that echoed throughout the chamber. He flexed his four sinewy limbs, eager for battle.

"If you've got some of that space magic up your sleeve, this might be a good time to use it!" yelled Vane at his companion, as he leveled the rifle at this new threat. Still more Fallen of every shape and size poured into the room, spitting curses in alien tongues at the two invaders. Vane took aim at the brutish captain's head, and held his breath as he squeezed the trigger. A dull click was the only response from the weapon in his hands, as the lights along its barrel shroud fell dark.

Enraged, the captain charged towards them, its hands clawing at air as it approached. "Not now, baby, not now" Vane whimpered at the now-useless rifle in his hands. He glanced at Rubik, who was shuddering in fear at his feet. Out of desperation, he vigorously shook the weapon, begging for it to come to life. The captain vaulted over the row of terminals, its body quivering with rage. Suddenly, a single light flickered on within the rifle's display, and Vane pulled the trigger, not bothering to aim.

The captain was thrown back several feet, and appeared shaken by the concussive force. A dull shimmer of radiance spread around his body, and he rocked back on his heels as his suit's energy shield dispersed the power of the blast. The rifle once again fell dark and cold in Vane's hands, its charge drained at last. The captain, unharmed, threw back his head in a deep, guttural laugh. Vane stepped back, reaching for his companion. He turned to see the man floating in air, his eyes blank as he appeared to recite some sort of incantation. The room flashed with a blinding violet light, and a massive explosion rocked the ship as Vane was thrown to the ground.

As the ringing in his ears subsided, Vane blinked to clear his vision. The destruction was incredible. All around him sparks from damaged panels fizzled and cracked. The ceiling had partially caved in, and exposed wires hung in great tendrils, draping the scene as smoke billowed down from above. Rubik stood beside him, expressionless. Vane staggered out of their ruined alcove, still dazed, his eyes adjusting to the haze.

The shattered bodies of Fallen soldiers lay all around them, the captain's face frozen in a contorted snarl as the remains of his armor lay smoldering nearby. Taking Rubik by the arm, Vane clumsily climbed over the wreckage to survey the room beyond. It was the ship's bridge. Here, the devastation continued.

The bodies of several dregs lay sprawled across the consoles. A few of the display monitors showed manically fluctuating graphs, while others were silent and dark. At the far end of the bridge, the large transparent viewscreen showed the earth rapidly rising to meet them. "What did you _do?" _he growled at Rubik, who merely shrugged a response. The floor beneath them trembled slightly as the main engines powered down, and both struggled to keep their footing as the massive warship listed starboard.

Adrift, the battle cruiser gently collided with the atmosphere, and Vane staggered as the ship lurched once more. Looking out from the viewscreen, he felt his stomach rise as the horizon tilted to meet him. Small pockets of flame began to streak by, and the hull creaked ominously beneath his feet. A shrill alien voice began to shriek warnings at them from the overhead speaker system. "_Fre razzat! Fre razzat!" _Their meaning was obvious. Slowly, inevitably, the battered ship was being pulled towards the earth below. Vane smiled to himself. He was coming home.


	3. Chapter 3

Deep within the ruins of the Cosmodrome, Rally Capri paused to get her bearings. She had never ventured this far before. Overhead, the crescent moon provided just enough light to drape the rusting structures with an eerie glow. A few days ago, she had taken time to scout the surrounding area with her ghost. On this night, however, she was alone, and the ancient towers seemed to rise around her like a beckoning tomb. The Cosmodrome was a shrine, a reminder of a time long ago when mankind nearly destroyed itself, before we needed The Darkness to do the job for us. It was here that Rally hoped to find the answers she sought.

She crept out from the shelter of a partially collapsed steel wall to get a better look at the area ahead. A small clearing spread out before her, surrounded by the skeletal remains of long abandoned metallic structures. She had been forced to take this new path after encountering a security terminal at the last junction. Her ghost would likely have been able to deactivate it, but without him she had no choice but to follow a side corridor in the hopes that it led her deeper into the Fallen lair.

Finding the area ahead unoccupied, she cautiously continued on. She briefly scanned the surrounding buildings. Somewhere in the shadows, her enemies stirred. On the fringes of its radar range, her HUD showed several faint red dots. From all around her came the soft scratches of something moving in the darkness. She felt a sudden wave of fear rush over her, and allowed herself a brief moment to check the cylinder of her revolver as she drew it from her hip. Four rounds left. The fight to get this far had taken more than she thought.

Across the clearing, a single dreg ambled into view. Seeming not to have noticed her, it lazily strolled towards the center of the area. As it neared her, the creature suddenly stopped, appearing confused. The dreg lifted its head and began to sniff the night air. Rally quietly holstered her weapon, her muscles tensing. She had to dispose of this one quickly, before it could alert its allies to her presence. She drew in a quick breath, and charged.

Her powered atmospheric armor was linked to her central nervous system. As she leapt forward, it obeyed her will and diverted its internal shield energy to her plated gauntlets in a crackle of arc energy. She closed the distance in a driving sprint, and the Dreg only managed a brief startled gasp before her armored fist exploded into its jaw. Her suit's energy propelling her forward, she felt bone and sinew give way, its skull shattering at the inhuman force of the blow. The creature teetered drunkenly for a moment before collapsing at her feet.

Certain she had silenced him in time, Rally kneeled beside a large rock outcropping to catch her breath. Looking up at the crumbling towers around her, bathed in the pale moonlight, the scene seemed almost peaceful. Eyeing the radar in her peripheral vision, she saw the display was calm and dark. Just then, a tiny flash emitted from the shadows of a distant building, and she felt a gentle shower of earth sprinkle over her as something impacted with the ground nearby.

Instinctively, she turned to face the direction of the light, searching for its source. Another flash followed, and Rally was thrown off her feet as a sledgehammer blow collided with her helmet. Dazed, she struggled to regain her footing, before falling flat on her face behind the relative safety of the boulder nearby. She was completely blind, her HUD damaged beyond repair by the plasma blast which had nearly taken her life. She clawed at the release locks, and managed to pry her helmet off in a desperate attempt to regain her vision. Her skull was pounding. She felt around her face, her fingers frantically searching for the wounds that would explain her pain. She flinched as they reached her scalp. A plasma burn ran in a jagged path ending at her temple. The bolt had ricocheted off her skull, leaving her wounded and stunned but alive.

Fresh warm blood ran into her eyes, blurring her vision once more. She smeared the blood away and frantically searched her surroundings. Her short blond hair was matted and pressed to her skull, a grotesque mask of dirt and viscera. Another plasma blast careened off the rock, leaving a scorched mark in its wake. Across the clearing, perhaps thirty feet away, she spied an exit. An abandoned missile silo lay open, the blackness below looming like a gaping maw. Rally summoned the last of her courage and bolted for the cavernous hole. As she ran, several more blasts impacted around her. Unconsciously, she crossed her index and middle fingers for luck as she leapt into the black.

She counted as she fell. One…two…three…the cavern was briefly illuminated as her rocket thrusters fired, slowing her descent. She disengaged the thrusters and allowed herself to drop the final ten feet to the steel grate below. Knowing her pursuers would not be far behind, she felt her way along the edges of the catwalk until she found an opening. She continued on, slowly inching her way through the darkness of the adjacent corridor. She knew that these ancient maintenance hatches must lead somewhere, perhaps eventually to an exit that would lead back to the surface.

Wounded, low on ammunition and without the assistance of her HUD, her plan would have to wait. Tonight had been a complete disaster, but next time, things would be different. As she crept along in total darkness, she heard a soft rustling of sound to her left. In one motion she drew her revolver and thrust it forward, firing once in a blind rush. In that instant, the muzzle flash revealed an imposing figure. A mass of iron slammed into her wrist, and the gun fell to earth with a clatter. As the stifling darkness returned, she felt a powerful hand close around her throat.

She knew that the few Hive who had journeyed to Earth had managed to gain a foothold here, deep beneath the surface. She had hoped to avoid them, as they rarely ventured out from their vast network of caves. Now she knew why the Fallen hadn't immediately followed her down into the silo. The knight tightened its grip on her throat. An involuntary gurgle escaped her lips. The blackness around her was now tinged with angry red flashes as her brain, deprived of oxygen, struggled to make sense of the situation. Rally knew she was dying.

Rapidly losing consciousness, her eyes flitted to the display on her arm. Energy dispersal arrays were at 90%. As the beast lifted her, Rally kicked at the air, her legs feebly struggling to find purchase. 95%. One outstretched toe touched something solid. She planted her boots against the creature's thigh, straining to gain leverage. 98%. She abandoned her useless struggle to pry the knight's bony fingers from her throat and frantically searched until she felt the ridges of its misshapen skull. 100%. Once again diverting all remaining power to her forearms, she pressed her boots against the knight while simultaneously wrenching its head back with all her might. Its grip on her loosened slightly but Rally did not relent. Empowered by technology and common human rage, she gritted her teeth and strained as she ripped its head backwards. Connecting tissue snapped, black ichor erupting from the knight as its head was torn from its shoulders. Human and Hive collapsed in a writhing heap, its dying body convulsing as Rally gasped for air, exhausted and repulsed.

Several long minutes later, the young woman finally rose to her feet. For once, she was thankful for the darkness. She was covered in blood, both her own and that of her alien attacker, and it had seeped through her metallic collar and now coated the inside of her armor. She fumbled around in the blackness for a few moments until she found her revolver, and returned it to the holster on her hip. She took a few steps forward, before memory stopped her. She searched around the knight's lifeless body until she found the object she sought. She hefted the massive sword, measuring its weight. Without the ambient muscle augmentation of her armor, she might not have even been able to lift it. Remembering her near-empty revolver, she slung the cumbersome blade across her back, allowing the magnetic restraints of her suit to hold it in place. If she was to survive, she would need all the help she could get.

Half an hour later, Rally staggered out of the maintenance tunnels, the moon welcoming her back to the surface. Exhausted and filthy, she dropped her to her knees and looked up at the sky, her body trembling with relief. A curious sight greeted her gaze. High above, a massive ball of fire was slowly falling to Earth. A Fallen ketch warship, ablaze in atmospheric reentry, plummeted from the sky. Its trajectory hurtled it toward the Cosmodrome with inevitable certainty. Rally sighed. This was going be to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

Rubik scanned the few monitors that still functioned. The warning messages were in Fell-script, a combination of jagged scrawl and hieroglyphs, but memory served to help decipher them. Although the ship's hull was largely intact, the engine controls were linked to the bridge, and as a result of the blast damage they were currently offline. Rubik glanced at his human companion, who had braced himself against a nearby terminal as the ship listed forward, propelled by the inexorable pull of gravity toward the looming terrain below. He appeared terrified (and perhaps a little nauseous) and clearly was looking to Rubik for answers.

"You can read that crap?!" he gasped. "Well, what does it say? Can you fix this thing?" Vane was known for his calm, cool demeanor, and Rubik thought that this current frantic reaction didn't seem to suit him in the least.

"Yes, I can read it" Rubik responded. He leaned casually against the nearest terminal, and sighed. "I'm sorry about before…I'm, uh, not really good at social situations. Did I ever tell you why I was on the moon? She thought it would be a good idea to-"

"Can it, Lilac! This!" Vane pointed frantically at the blaring siren overhead. He glanced at the huge rifle in his hands, and saw that the lights on its display had returned. He fired a single shot, and the loudspeaker overhead exploded in a shower of sparks. The blast was deafening in the small compartment, but the siren finally fell silent. "Can you fix this? Why are the engines dead?" he yelled at Rubik in an overly loud voice.

"The engines are charging for docking and landing correction" Rubik replied calmly. "This ship is not equipped with landing gear, the engines are preparing for retrofire because the ship thinks we are in final approach and-"

"I don't want them charging for DLC, I want them ON!" Vane shot back. He clasped a hand to his mouth and his face turned a sickly shade of green as the ketch violently lurched forward, its bow drooping as its descent accelerated.

"Um, well, on the bright side," Rubik sputtered, trying to sound optimistic, "we still have a few minutes before we crash. Did I ever tell you about my time on the moon? I feel like my back-story hasn't really been fleshed out. When I was a boy, I was…" his voice trailed off, along with his audience, as Vane staggered out of the room, struggling to keep his footing as the ship plummeted to Earth.

The room ahead was silent and still. The bodies of the Fallen lay strewn about, their limbs twisted and burnt. Vane stepped over them in disgust and tiptoed his way to a loading bay on the left. Flashing red strobe lights illuminated the chamber. In the center of the room, suspended by a series of steel cranes, several Fallen walkers gently swayed back and forth on their harnesses. The machines looked almost alive, their multiple arachnid legs tucked daintily beneath swollen metal bodies. "They're tanks" Vane whispered to himself, his eyes growing large as he took in the scene, "I have…tanks." Rubik had finally caught up to his companion, and he clasped a hand to his new friend's shoulder. "You're welcome", he replied.

Rubik took a brief glance at the symbols on the hatch of the nearest walker, and then pressed several of its buttons in sequence. The hatch popped open, and a series of lights within the tank compartment flickered to life. He turned to Vane, pleased with himself but puzzled at the human's motivations. "It appears to be operational, but we have, uh, more pressing problems at hand." As if on cue, the ship shuddered and creaked, and both men lost their footing as the ship listed yet again.

The ketch was in near-vertical freefall now. Vane and Rubik clung to the side of the walker as the floor dropped out from beneath them. The ship had lost all semblance of stability, and the metallic floor of the loading bay now served as a vertical wall that the two men pressed against while struggling to retain their grip on the alien tank. "Wait, we can use this!" Vane suddenly exclaimed, laughing out loud as he clung to the tank. Rubik stared at him, intrigued. "I've seen this before! When these drop, they have shields that deploy for a few seconds, to prevent damage caused in the landing. We can do this!" Vane looked pleadingly at Rubik, clearly seeking approval for his ridiculous plan. The young Awoken smiled at him and clambered into the tank without a word, his human friend close behind.

The hatch closed above them, and for a brief moment the two were shrouded in total darkness. Then numerous lights flickered inside the walker, and a soft hum surrounded the two as the tank came to life. "Wait for it", said Rubik, holding up his index finger in the universal sign for patience. The ship outside shuddered once more, followed by the groans of metal giving way, then a sudden, perfect calm. Vane was confused. He could still feel his stomach rise with the sensation of falling, but the sounds of the failing ship had completely stopped. Rubik giggled softly as a sly smile crossed his lips.

"I hate to keep saying this, but what DID YOU DO!?" Vane snarled at Rubik. The man blushed, his lavender skin clashing horribly with his ice-blue lips.

"Well, uh, remember how we were falling to our deaths?" Rubik grinned sheepishly as Vane glared at him. "I uh, rerouted our trajectory. The engines weren't going to respond unless I told them we needed them for hyperspace travel, so I uh, did that. I set the coordinates for Lunar 471-842." Vane now looked more confused than angry. "Oh, um, that's the uh, lunar base where we met. I set the ship on a collision course with it, and now we've probably been jettisoned from the cargo hold in preparations for the ship's uh, jump to light speed." The two men screamed involuntarily as the Fallen tank dropped through the cargo bay doors into the rush of night air, still several thousand feet above the ground. "Okay, well NOW we've been jettisoned" remarked Rubik, gesturing toward his watchless wrist and clearly disappointed by his miscalculation.

Vane gripped the walker's control stick in a futile effort to slow their freefall. A viewscreen lit up, displaying a dizzying blur of the rusted Cosmodrome skyline as the tank fell to Earth. Rubik calmly pulled the seat harness over himself, secured it in place, and motioned for Vane to do the same. Vane shrugged and grasped his own harness, gritting his teeth as he shoved it into its slot. He held his breath, closed his eyes, and braced himself for the inevitable.


	5. Chapter 5

Bloodied and exhausted, Rally knelt behind a pile of mud and debris, her eyes still adjusting to the moonlight after emerging from the tunnel. Each breath felt coarse and ragged, her bruised throat left aching from the knight's iron grip. The wind whipped through the clearing ahead, lashing her blood-caked cheeks and chilling her to the bone. She shivered in the cold, her gaze fixed intently on the scene high above.

The Fallen warship plummeted to earth, a flaming comet streaking through the night sky. She watched it for a few seconds, mesmerized, only vaguely aware of the crumbling ruins in her peripheral vision and the dangers they might conceal. The ship suddenly shuddered, seeming to momentarily slow its descent. A small bead of gleaming energy appeared just beyond its bow, and then swelled to envelop the craft in crackling light. The form of the ketch seemed to warp and shift, its rigid angles stretching absurdly. In a blinding flash, the black sky was illuminated and the craft vanished into thin air. A moment later, a crash of sound blasted the Cosmodrome; a tidal wave of clashing cymbals and thunderclaps that threw Rally off her feet. Dazed, she searched the sky for any sign of the massive ship. Her bleary eyes caught a tiny glint of steel a few hundred feet above. It grew larger as it fell, tumbling gently like a drifting snowflake. Seeking shelter, Rally covered her unprotected head with her hands and thrust herself against a mud-soaked mound of debris. On the far side of the clearing, perhaps 200 yards away, something heavy collided with the rusting frame of a war torn building. An avalanche of twisted beams and broken glass rained down, obscuring her view and burying the object in a mountain of rubble.

Vane Stratos wasn't someone most would call a "people person". He preferred to make his own luck, made his own rules and generally avoided any unnecessary contact with others. Recent circumstances had forced him to ally with a socially awkward, strangely powerful alien, and he had hated every minute of it. He enjoyed his solitude and found other people almost universally detestable, and he was fairly certain that the feeling was mutual. This was precisely why this "dream" (if one could call it that) was becoming so increasingly annoying.

He remembered the falling, but had forgotten the fear. Expectant, anxious silence surrounded him, his view a foggy haze tinged with soft, blinking lights, like Christmas in a coal mine. His vision slowly cleared. He saw himself, his arm around a young woman, both of them laughing without sound. They were standing together in the den of a shabbily-appointed but nonetheless cheerful apartment home, looking on as large dog and young child played together on the floor. As a lucid spectator, Vane felt mildly nauseous as he watched his sweater-clad avatar lean in to kiss the smiling woman, a postcard of sickly-sweet suburbia. The fluffy dog rolled onto its back, the child feverishly scratching its exposed belly. More silent laughter ensued. "Why can't I ever astrally-project myself into a sorority house?" Vane muttered to himself. Fog swirled to envelop the scene, and the vision faded to black.

He was alone now, drifting in empty space. A vague memory pricked at the back of his consciousness. Something important was supposed to be happening, a sense of urgency that clawed at the edges of his brain and threatened to wake him from his dream-state. Struggling to remember, Vane shook his spiritual self with disembodied hands. All of a sudden, clarity returned and the silence was pierced by a calm, clear voice. "You are not what you have become", the voice insisted. Vane wanted to respond, to lash out at this intrusion, but its words swelled within him, unapologetically consuming his will. "You are an instrument, one of many. Hold her, and be held. This is the nature of all things." Confused, Vane listened intently, but the voice was gone. The vacant dark slowly gave way as the vision yielded to reality. He blinked away the dream, his thoughts returning to the present.

Rally Capris withdrew the massive Hive-blade with a groan, the slain vandal sliding free of its jagged edge in a viscous mess. Its allies had not witnessed its death directly, but their glowing eyes peered from the shadows all around her, a constellation of murderous intent among the backdrop of crumbling towers. The crash nearby had drawn them to her, hunting for any who would dare venture so deeply into their lair. Breathing heavily, she glanced at the indicator screen on her wrist. Her powered armor remained at full charge, but she was nearing her limit. A dreg, perhaps more emboldened than his kin, charged her from the darkness. She swung the cumbersome blade in a wide arc, her suits neural impellers driving the blow with superhuman force as the creature's thin waist was severed cleanly in two. She kicked aside its writhing remains and turned her attention to the crash site.

Beneath the massive pile of iron and dust, something stirred. Several metallic, arachnid legs clawed free of the rubble, flailing and scraping for purchase against stone and earth. Debris fell away in a cloud as the tank pulled itself from the wreckage, its bulbous form alight with proximity alarms and flashing weaponry. A small cadre of vandals approached the walker, a few of them leering sadistically at Rally, seeming to relish their newfound reinforcements. Her pounding heart sank in her chest. She remembered the revolver at her hip, so dangerously low on ammunition. Involuntarily, she loosened her grip on the sword and it fell from her grasp, landing in the mud with a meaty squelch. She sank to her knees, defeated, as Fallen began to approach from all sides. This was the end.

The walker's main cannon turret swiveled into place, followed by a brilliant muzzle flash. Rally was momentarily stunned by the blast. Across the clearing, a Fallen lieutenant and his entire platoon exploded in a fiery display of limbs and armor. Incredulous, Rally looked down at her body, filthy but intact. Vandals and dregs stood frozen in disbelief, staring in equal measure at the tank and their incinerated kin. Another explosion followed, and the clearing erupted in animal shrieks and burning bodies. A few remaining Fallen opened fire on the tank, but to no avail. Its side-mounted chain guns cut the creatures to ribbons, their plasma blasts feebly skittering off its armored hull. Moments later, the smoke cleared and the only sounds were the low whimpers of the dying. The walker powered down and rested in place, satiated at last.

Wide-eyed and breathless at the miraculous turn of events, Rally slowly lifted her sword and staggered towards the motionless tank. Whoever was inside it had just saved her life. She stopped short as the main turret turned towards her. For a few strained moments, machine and guardian faced each other in stony silence. The standoff was finally broken by a series of small thumps from within the walker's metal shell. Rally paused to listen, and the thumps grew louder. She approached the craft, and saw that its upper hatch was warped and inoperable, likely as a result of its rough landing. The thumping grew more frenetic. She sprinted the final few yards to the tank and climbed atop it. Using the weighty sword as a pry-bar, she wrenched at the port with all her cyber-assisted might. The metal groaned, but relented.

Within the tight confines of the walker's hull, Rubik coughed in the gathering smoke. In the crash to earth, the tank's cannon exhaust dispersal port had been damaged, and had vented its fumes into the cockpit. He nudged Vane awake at last, and both men looked up into the widening crack of moonlight that had appeared above. Vane blinked in the haze, and his eyes met those of a familiar face.


	6. Chapter 6

Data-stream experiment 1371(colon subtext) status imminent (period end phrase) Previous findings inconclusive (comma expand) further testing required (period end phrase) Chronological monitoring modifiers applied (period end phrase) Passage of incremental indicators remain measurable (comma expand) no known change (period end phrase) 16714 relevant references to decreased capacity for accurate present-condition chrono-calibration remain (comma define) cause unknown (period end phrase) Findings suggest causal link between organic consciousness and environmental factors (comma datafind) specifically addressing local-monitored-time hours one hundred median five hundred (period syntax end phrase) All previous monitoring rendered succinct (comma query) shall thence (syntax ongoing) monitor adumbrate traducers (syntax grandiloquent unjustified ignore)

Somewhere in the deep hours between tonight and tomorrow, the machine-god waited. An unfathomable construct of artificial impatience, its vast relays were ablaze with possibility. Arc-thoughts paced restlessly through well-worn halls of reinforced logic. The orb hovered in place, paralyzed, trapped in a riddle-web of its own design. It had intentionally bound its computational arrays into a series of data loops in an effort to halt their predictions of the coming encounter. As ever, the known universe spread out and beyond, a glass-flat sea of yes/no queries leading to the inevitable certainty of if/then response. There should be waves. Tonight, for once, the machine was determined to experience surprise.

Three figures huddled in the dark, silently kneeling over an unlit fire in a place humans had feared to tread for centuries. A Fallen shock grenade sputtered to life with a crackle and hiss, and the trio backed away in unison as the ensuing blaze spread to the pile of gathered tinder. One by one, each settled into place around the makeshift campsite, each wondering who would break the awkward silence first. Rubik glanced nervously at the young woman to his left. From her haggard appearance, she seemed to have suffered the worst of any of them this night. Her human features were barely visible beneath a thick mask of grime and blood, but something about this girl intrigued him. Perhaps sensing him watching her, she raised her head, and Rubik saw in her eyes not despair, but hope. She managed to force a strained smile across her lips, and Rubik felt his violet cheeks flush in response. He was even more surprised by Vane's reaction, who recoiled at her gaze and seemed to shrink into the shadows, seeking refuge. His companion had been uncharacteristically silent throughout this encounter, and even the socially-repressed Rubik had finally decided that enough was enough. He drew a deep breath, and sternly cleared his throat.

Shaken from his racing thoughts by the sudden noise, Vane's eyes darted between the feet of the two figures in front of him. He could feel their eyes on him, judging him. How could it be her? It made no sense, and he was sure he knew how they would react if he were to tell them about his ridiculous "dream". Unable to stand their silent accusations any longer, he jumped to his feet and screamed, "What?!" The woman looked around worriedly, wondering if her enemies had been alerted by the outburst. Rubik's face changed slowly from initial shock to compassionate understanding. He put a reassuring hand on Vane's shoulder, and somehow, in that instant, he knew. They both knew.

"So _that's _it," whispered Rubik. Vane stared at him, stunned. Rubik turned to the young woman. She appeared hopelessly confused. "Alright then, mystery girl…who are you, anyway?" She grimaced slightly, then pointed to her lips and shook her head, clearly embarrassed.

"Wait, she can't even speak?" Vane choked on the words, incredulous. He turned to Rubik for answers. "And what was that just now? So you're what, a mind reader now?"

Ignoring him, Rubik continued to question her, though his tone had softened somewhat. "Okay, that's alright, what's your name?" He nodded several times, seeming to carry on some inaudible conversation, and then turned back to Vane. "She's Rally. I think she's on our side."

"Okay, but why is she," He gestured wildly towards Rally. "Why is she like that? I mean, how did she get that way? How long has she been, you know…" His voice trailed off as he looked at Rubik, pleading for answers.

Rally simply shrugged. "Since always, maybe, I don't know" Rubik replied. Vane sighed heavily and buried his head in hands. Out of frustration, he kicked aside the massive rifle he had brought with him from the ketch, and it slammed into a nearby girder with a furious clatter. Somewhere in the distant dark, an alien growl responded to the sound. All three rose to their feet, the events of the past few minutes suddenly forgotten. Rally settled her grip on the jagged sword affixed to her back, and fixed her gaze on the indefinite black beyond. She clenched her jaw tightly, weary teeth scraping as a cacophony of yips and snarls joined the first. No longer aware of her new companions, her mind sharpened to laser focus. They don't matter. None of them have ever mattered. Their shouted warnings went unheeded as she drew her sword and charged, silently screaming into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Vane cursed under his breath as he watched her disappear into the darkness. He had no intention of getting involved in Rally's private war with the Fallen, he just wanted to get out of this alive. Unsure of what to do, he looked to Rubik for answers. The gawky alien was clumsily stomping the remains of the fire out, perhaps in an effort to avoid detection. "Hey, look at this! ", he remarked, retrieving a torn and partially burnt book page from the smoldering heap. "Ecclesiastes 2:15…'The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?' Seems appropriate, right?" He glanced at Vane, who was staring at him in disbelief. "Oh, right, it's you" quipped Rubik, followed by an exasperated sigh. "It means, um…YOLO?"

His trepidation momentarily overcome by annoyance, Vane snatched up his rifle, gesturing in Rally's direction and glaring at Rubik. "She's insane, and you're an idiot!" He turned on his heels and set off to find her, a riot of plasma blasts and inhuman shrieks providing a clear beacon to her position.

Rounding a corner into a moonlit clearing, Vane paused to assess the situation. Up ahead, Rally was locked in furious combat with a seemingly endless flood of vandals and dregs. Intermittent shock pistol salvoes and the glowing arcs of hurled grenades painted the scene in a psychedelic strobe effect, a brilliant-blue kaleidoscope of carnival slaughter. Though hopelessly outnumbered, Rally seemed oblivious to the danger as she mercilessly hacked through the swarm. For a moment, Vane was mesmerized as he watched. The flashing blade cleaved effortlessly through gangly limbs and slapdash armor, spurting fountains of multicolored viscera raining down on her silent fury. She was beautiful, terrifying, a guttersnipe valkyrie on the field of battle. "What is _with_ this chick?" Vane whispered, before the sound of Rubik's approaching footsteps yanked him from his reverie.

Vane leveled his rifle, taking aim at a single dreg that was attempting to flank Rally from the shadows. He fired once, and a piercing thunderclap echoed through the twisted ruins. His hapless quarry exploded in a flash of light, the remains of its shriveled body flung high into the air. Seeming not to notice the sudden intervention, Rally continued her frenzied assault as dozens of Fallen closed on her. Lining up for another shot, Vane glanced back over his shoulder to address Rubik. "So, she can't speak, and she's clearly got some kind of death wish", Vane mused, "and I don't even want to know what happened with _you _back there." The Awoken fidgeted uncomfortably, avoiding Vane's gaze. "I mean, can't you like, fix her?"

"I'm a warlock, not a magician", he replied dryly. He raised an eyebrow, and his voice took on an uncharacteristically accusatory tone as he examined Vane's ponderous weapon. "And if you're so worried about her, why didn't you give _her_ that thing?"

"Hey! I earned this!" Vane shot back, jealously clutching his prize. A pair of vandals had noticed the recent gunshot and now charged in unison on their position. The rifle bucked against his shoulder as another blast erupted from its muzzle, the impact hitting one of the vandals squarely in the chest. Ignoring his fallen comrade, the remaining creature leapt at them, its pistol raised to fire. In a panic, Vane fumbled the weapon and nearly dropped it before finding his grasp and swinging the rifle like a high-tech club. Miraculously, the butt of the massive gun connected perfectly with the vandal's skull. Its eyes rolled back lazily in their sockets and it collapsed in a heap at Vane's feet. He quickly composed himself and turned to Rubik, his face twisted in a condescending sneer. "See that? I'm awesome. Now make yourself useful and go find a gun."

"Um, okay, but that's not really my thing" Rubik replied meekly. He bent down to pick up the incapacitated vandal's pistol, eyeing it warily. Vane turned his attention back to Rally. Fewer Fallen now remained, but the girl was clearly starting to tire. Viewing her through the magnified scope, he watched as she drove her sword through the midsection of a squealing dreg. He took aim at another, but before he could react, a third dreg wielding a crackling shock-knife managed a brutal slash at Rally's thigh. She staggered, and the bloodstained sword fell from her grasp. Desperate to grant her a moment's reprieve, Vane fired twice, killing the two remaining dregs. As he did so, a volley of automatic arc-fire sizzled past his shoulder, impacting on a slab of concrete about twenty feet above Rally. A moment later, several more blasts impacted in the dirt just a few feet in front of him. He turned around slowly, his voice quivering with rage.

"What…are…you…AIMING AT!?" Embarrassed, Rubik dropped the pistol and turned away, muttering to himself. Remembering Rally's predicament, Vane raised his weapon once more. He had just met this girl. He had no reason to care what happened to her, he told himself. You are Vane Stratos, master of your own destiny. And yet, he couldn't deny that he felt…something, and he hated himself for it. He watched with a mixture of pity and admiration as she battled on. A vandal had kicked aside the Hive-sword, and it chortled with laughter as its brethren closed ranks, preventing her from reaching the weapon that had slain so many of its kin. Vane eyed the munitions indicator on his rifle. He knew he would only be allowed a few more precious shots before the weapon would return to its charging state. They were running out of options.

Vane debated over whether to fire as Fallen continued to clamber from the shadows. Rally threw a right cross at her nearest assailant, but her fatigue was visible as the creature shook off the blow and snarled at her in defiance. Within moments, there were three, then five, then ten Fallen surrounding her. Vane held his breath and prepared to fire, determined to make every shot count.

He was interrupted by a thundering, guttural bellow that reverberated throughout the area. The sound hit his ears as a hammer blow, and he winced in pain. Fallen of every shape and size froze in place, their heads cocking in jerky, birdlike movements in an effort to identify the source of this intrusion. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Vane turned to see what had become of Rubik. His companion looked back at him blankly, but Vane could have sworn he saw a faint smirk cross his lips. The crumbling ruins provided perfect acoustics for what was to come. At first, a subtle prelude of indistinct chatter, of curses whispered in alien tongues. All around them, the shadowed periphery began to stir with life. The scraping of claws and the gnashing of teeth soon joined the demonic chorus, which swelled to envelop the Cosmodrome. Friend and foe alike were paralyzed with fear as the very ground at their feet trembled and shook. Only Rally continued to fight on, her bloodlust compelling her as she swung feebly at her oblivious foes. She was invisible to them now, a mere afterthought. From ancient pits and rock-hewn tunnels, a new threat arose. The Hive had returned to Earth.

Across the clearing, a mountain of fallen girders and twisted debris caught Vane's eye. The pile of wreckage suddenly stirred, heaving and convulsing like a monstrous, beating heart. With a tremendous crash, the mound erupted, concrete and rusted steel flung like kindling into the night sky. Within the cloud of dirt and ash, a shape emerged. An impossible creature of nightmare and fairy tale clawed its way to the surface, the beast struggling with the exertion of its own immeasurable bulk. At the sight of the hulking ogre, several dregs turned and fled in terror. One heroic vandal charged the monstrosity, and was stomped flat like an insect. A horde of screaming thralls spilled out behind the ogre, spurred on by their champion and thirsting for blood. As a furious melee between Hive and Fallen ensued, Vane turned to Rubik to confirm his suspicions. "You decided to phone a friend?" The warlock smiled and shrugged, clearly pleased with himself. "But, you _can _control them, right?"

"Control them?" The Awoken looked confused. "Oh, now you're just being silly." Vane bit his lip and somehow resisted the violent rage boiling within him. There would be time for that later. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and made a mad dash for Rally. Pressing his way through the battling throng, he climbed over and through a clashing mob of creatures far too preoccupied to engage him. He finally found the girl straddling a lifeless vandal, exhausted and futilely punching away at its bloodied corpse. Vane put a hand on her shoulder, and she swung at him and snarled. He recoiled, but her expression changed as realization struck her. She threw her arms around him, and Vane flinched as she clutched him in a desperate embrace, sobbing uncontrollably. Helpless and confused, he simply stood there, her wet tears running down his chest as brutal death rang out all around them.

For a long moment they held each other, the familiar warmth building between them. Her scent came rushing back to him, lost lifetimes ago, now precious and new. He closed his eyes, and the battlefield washed away. In this moment, they were alone.


End file.
